“We don’t always want to be about the bottom line” – George Bennell
Founded in 1991 as The Fresh Olive Company, Belazu, a Chef-grade Ingredient company, is the brainchild of two lifelong school friends, George Bennell and Adam Wells. On the first day of secondary school in 1979, at the age of 11, they sat next to each other in Lord Williams School in Thame, Oxfordshire, and have remained friends ever since. After leaving school in 1987, George went on to train and work as a chef in Paris, while Adam went to university to study History.
In 1991, they went to visit George’s mother, who was living in France, and she took them to the local farmers’ market, where they tasted the fresh olives and bought ten buckets (45 pounds) of them. They took them back to the UK and sold them to Fasta Pasta in Oxford’s covered market. Fasta Pasta sold out and wanted more, so they borrowed £10,000, bought a van, and started importing olives, selling them to delicatessens and restaurants, including the restaurant of the internationally renowned French Chef, Raymond Blanc – the world-famous “le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons”.
The Fresh Olive Company was founded, and it grew quickly, helped by endorsements from high-profile British chefs and TV personalities such as Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, as well as Raymond Blanc himself. Meanwhile, from 1994 to 1997, George and his mother toured Europe searching for new products such as olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pesto, and in 1998, he and Adam rented a stall in London’s famous Borough Market. Here they began selling directly to the customer. By 2000, Belazu was established as the company’s retail brand. Not only a new brand name but a change to the company image, abandoning the traditional olive green colour for a “beautiful blue”. This reinforced the name Belazu, which they had created from the French “Bel Azur”, the Italian “Bel Azzurro” and the Spanish “Benito Azul” , all meaning “Beautiful Blue”, drawing on the blue seas and skies of the Mediterranean. With Belazu now in place, they started to sell to British supermarket chains such as Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, as well as British chefs overseas in places like Dubai. They also began to manufacture their own products in-house, moving to new dedicated manufacturing premises in 2010 and adding a warehouse in 2021.
By the end of the 2022 financial year, Belazu was generating an annual turnover of around £37 million, was employing some 230 people, and was sourcing its 600 products from around 150 suppliers. In 2018, it had been acquired by the 173 year old William Jackson Food Group, a sixth-generation family business that owns five different food businesses, each of which is encouraged to be different but to adhere to several fundamental principles, namely:
- Try your hardest
- Play Your Part
- Be Positive
- Collaborate
- It’s Important to Care
- Learn from Mistakes
Such values are compatible with those of George and Adam, who still run the company and whose five core principles are people, passion, customers, accountability, and honesty. As they point out “Our principles are as important to us now as they were in 1991”. While having built a highly profitable business based on quality, the venture is founded on their care for people, products, and the planet. For example, they claim to know everyone they work with personally—their suppliers, growers, employees, and customers – and not only are they a certified London Living Wage employer, but each employee has a personal development plan. However, it is not just their employees for whom they care. In 2003, they launched the Belazu Foundation in order to support food and educational projects for children and young people in the UK and the Mediterranean. Every year, they donate 3 percent of their profits to the Foundation, and they partner with other, similar charitable organisations to promote education and healthy eating. Since its launch, the Foundation has worked with the Zakoura Foundation in Morocco and has supported over 1000 women and children in rural areas.
In addition to its people focus, Belazu is concerned for the planet, and to this end, it is determined to reduce its carbon footprint. To do so, it has transferred to green energy suppliers, and in October 2023, it augmented its distribution fleet with 3 electric vans that will save 24 tonnes of CO2 a year. Additionally, it has partnered with City Harvest and Plan Zheroes to reduce food waste by redistributing surplus food to those in need, and since 2013, it has been a zero-waste to landfill company. More recently, it has created an on-site garden and introduced 2 hives, which are cared for by 4 in-house beekeepers. Since 2020, any employee can volunteer to work with the beekeepers, giving them the opportunity to learn about the importance of pollination and the need to respect the flora and fauna
Over the years, Belazu has won various awards, including 4 awards for recycling and, in 2019, “The Grocer’s” Best Employer Award. In 2021, the venture was granted B-Corp status with a score of 83.5. Though it is delighted to have received this certification, it remains intent on addressing the sustainability challenge while improving its B-Corp score!
Belazu is very much an example of a Harmonious Enterprise in which profit, planet, and people are in harmony. While it is a profitable venture, it does not exploit or harm the planet or its inhabitants. Rather, it addresses SDGs 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action), 15 (Life on Land), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), as well as 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), and 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
© Harmonious-Entrepreneurship.org / Harmonious Entrepreneurship Ltd. (2020-2024).
HES 2020-2025 